No less than 49 Massacres in September 2016

Including 46 at the Hands of the Russian and Syrian regimes

SNHR has published its monthly report documenting the massacres perpetrated by the conflict parties.
The report outlines the toll of the massacres perpetrated in September 2016 where the report describes an incident as a massacre if it involved the killing of five peaceful individuals at the same time. Based on this report, the report documents the occurrence of 49 massacres in September 2016 including 26 at the hands of government forces and 20 massacres by alleged Russian forces whereas two massacres were committed by ISIS and one massacre by armed opposition factions.
According to the report, government forces committed eight massacres in Aleppo, five in Damascus suburbs, five in Deir Ez-Zour, three in Idlib, three in Hama, one in Daraa, and one in Al Raqqa while Russian forces have committed 15 massacres in Aleppo and five in Idlib. Additionally, ISIS perpetrated two massacres in Deir Ez-Zour while armed opposition factions committed one massacre in Aleppo.

The report notes that these massacres have resulted in the killing of 498 individuals including 161 children and 64 women which means that 46% of the total number of victims were women and victims which is an extremely high percentage that indicates that civilian residents were targeted in most of these massacres.
The report breaks down the death toll of the massacres of September where government forces killed 211 individuals including 65 children and 25 women in the massacres they committed in September while the number of victims who have fallen in the massacre perpetrated by Russian forces were 257 individuals including 87 children and 38 women. Furthermore, 21 individuals, including two children and one woman, were killed in the massacre committed by ISIS while armed opposition factions killed nine civilians including seven children.

The report affirms that the bombing incidents, whether it was deliberate or indiscriminate, targeted armless civilians, thus, government forces and Russian forces have violated the articles of the international human rights law which guarantee the right to life. Furthermore, these violations were perpetrated during a non-international armed conflict which amount to war crimes as all elements of a war crime have been fulfilled.
Furthermore, these attacks, especially bombing, have resulted in collateral damage that involved casualties, injuries, and damages to civil facilities. There are strong indicators that prove that the damage was deeply severe compared to the estimated military benefit. In all of the cases, we didn’t find any military targets before or during these attacks.

Additionally, the magnitude of the massacres, its frequent pattern, the exaggerated use of strength, its military nature, the indiscriminate manner of the bombing, and the coordinated approach of these attacks must be based on high orders, and a state policy.
The report calls for referring the case in Syria the International Criminal Court and stop the disrupting of the decisions that must be adopted by the Security Council against the Syrian government. This disruption is a wrong message to all dictatorships around the world and supports the culture of crime. Also, immediate sanctions must be imposed on all individuals involved in widespread human rights violations.

Moreover, the report calls for binding the Syrian government to allow all relief and human rights organizations to enter Syria, in addition to the International Intendent Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic and journalists and let them work without any obstructions.
The report emphasizes that all militias that are fighting with the Syrian government and have committed widespread massacres such as Hezbollah, other Shiite brigades, National Defense Army, and “Shabiha”, must be listed on the international list of terrorist organizations.
Finally, the report calls for the implementation of “Responsibility to Protect” norm which was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2005, in Syria as it is direly needed there.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights, founded in June 2011, is a non-governmental, non-profit independent organization that is a primary source for the United Nations on all death toll-related statistics in Syria